The present invention relates to air-cooled internal combustion engines and, more particularly, to a single cylinder diesel engine that is converted from a conventional horizontal shaft machine into a vertical shaft machine.
Single cylinder diesel engines are currently available in which the crankshaft of the engine is oriented in a horizontal configuration. The piston in such engines reciprocates vertically in a plane generally normal to the axis of the shaft. Such engines have intake and exhaust valves that are located at a top of the piston cylinder with the conventional rocker arm assembly or valve mechanism located above the valves for opening and closing the valves in a vertical direction. The positioning of the valves at the top of the single cylinder is such that if the engine is laid on its side so that the shaft can be oriented in a vertical position, the exhaust valve is situated below the intake valve and is susceptible to inhaling oils spilling from the crankcase or lower part of the engine into the head or top of the engine where the valve mechanism is located. Accordingly, the challenge faced by rotating the engine so as to be operable with the shaft vertically oriented is to control the amount of oil provided to the intake and exhaust valve control mechanism. As is well known, too much oil will cause the engine to badly smoke and may result in burning or damage to the intake or exhaust valves.